


Chemistry

by helsinkibaby



Series: In a Different Light [1]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Het, Romance, Workplace Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-06-10
Updated: 2010-06-10
Packaged: 2019-03-16 00:50:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13625067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: Garcia notices something when the new girl starts work.





	Chemistry

**Author's Note:**

> Since his divorce, his team at the BAU have hardly seen Aaron Hotchner smile. 
> 
> The arrival of the new communications liaison changes all that.

For as long as she’s been working in the BAU, Penelope Garcia has known one thing about Aaron Hotchner.

The hard-ass very rarely smiles.

In fact, if she hadn’t seen him talking every day, if she hadn’t seen him biting into food on several occasions, she would have said she didn’t even know if he had teeth. Morgan swears that he was different before the divorce, but she finds that hard to believe.

Not that Garcia notices Hotch’s smiles, or lack thereof, on a daily basis. But on the day that the new media liaison walks into the briefing room, introduces herself as “Jennifer Jareau… but you can call me JJ,” and shakes hands with everyone in turn, Garcia catches Hotch’s face out of the corner of her eye and what she sees there has her doing a hard double take.

The corners of his lips are turned up, and there may not be teeth-baring involved, but for Hotch, turned up lips are the equivalent of a full-on belly laugh from anyone else.

And he’s looking right at JJ.

Who of course he’s met before, and who gives him a smile as she holds up the folder in her hands. “Shall we begin?”

“By all means,” Hotch agrees, gesturing at the conference table, a sign for everyone to take their seats. He’s all business, and Garcia almost thinks she imagined the whole thing. Until, that is, Morgan leans in to murmur in her ear, “Did you see that?”

“The smile?” Her lips barely move, but his do, and her knees almost buckle because a Derek Morgan smile is a thing of beauty.

“And how he can’t take his eyes off her? Looks like our ice man is starting to thaw.”

Two minutes into the briefing and Garcia’s noticed that too. Just like she’s noticed that JJ’s eyes keep flickering back to Hotch. Which could be the newbie trying to impress the boss.

Garcia doesn’t get that vibe though, and she might not be a profiler but she knows a thing or two about chemistry and she knows that’s what she’s seeing.  



End file.
